Method of preparing appliques for attachment



Dec. 14, 1948 FRIEDLEN 2,456,264

METHOD OF PREPARING APILIQUES FOR ATTACHMENT Filed Sept. 13, 1946 Patented Dec. 14, 1948 METHOD OF PREPARING APPLIQUES FOR ATTACHMENT Maurice A. Fri-edlen, Chicago, Ill.

ApplicationSeptember 13, -1946,lS erialNo. 696,904

SClaims.

. V 1 'This invention relates generally to a method of attaching ,appliqus to surfaces of fabrics and the like'and more .particu arP-r to a method of prepar- "ing .the edges of appliqu'sto facilitate attachment to such surfaces.

Applious in the form of monograms, initials or ornamental designs have been attached to surfaces of fabrics by stitching along the marginal edges of theappliqus. When an applique is'cut from felted materials, the cut edges thereof will not ravel and, consequently, such appliqus may be attached to surfaces without further work on the edges. When, however, an applique is cut rom woven, knitted or similar fabrics, the out edgesof which are subject to ravelling, the edges of the appliqu must be'bent under, before stitching, in order to present a smoothly defined outline of. the particular configuration and also to prevent ravelling of the fabric along the cut edges v thereof.

fabric surface. It is apparent that such an operation'requires special skill and is time-consuming, thereby making applique work of this type relatively expensive and consequently limiting the field. of commercial use to relatively high cost articles;

In accordance with the foregoing, it is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a simple and efficient method of preparing the edges "of appliqus for stitching, whereby basting of the edges'preliminary to stitching is completely eliminated' Another object of my invention is the provision of a method for preparing the edges of appliqus for stitching, which method requires no special" skill andwhich may be readily performed to permit productionlonaquantity basis so as to materially reduce the cost of attaching appliqus to surfaces of fabrics or the like. 1 e

Other and further objects ofithepresentinvram tion will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanyin'g drawings. Other en'lbodiments of the invention embodying the-samer e uivalent'pnm ci'plemay be usedandstructural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of an applique stitched to a surface of application and havin a positioned 'overthe die recess ll .centrallyrelajtive thereto so that the marginal extensions 1Z4 ofEtheblank extending over theedges of the re- 2' portion" broken away to .show details of construction.

Fig. '2' is a perspective view of a die plate and pattern, in accordance with my invention, with the parts, in spaced relation and showing, in broken lines, an appliqu' blank in position for processing.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse cross-sectionalview showing a'step in my method o'fprep'arlng the edges of an appliqu'for attachment.

Fig. 4' is a similar view showing a subsequent s't'ep'in'my method of preparing the edges of an applique for attachment.

In practicing my invention I make use of a die plate Ill formed of any suitable material such as wood, metal or, plastics. On a surface of the plate. I provide a shallow recessll formed. of a desired configuration, such as that of a monogram, letter or an ornamental design. 'In the embodiment disclosed in the drawing,,the'recess II is shown, by way of illustration, in 'theform "of the letter T'i "It will be understood, however,

that the selection of theparticular letter is solely for illustrative purposes and that it is intended 'that'any desired configuration may be used.

For'cooperation wlththedie plate lll'I rovided a pattern l'2 formed of thin sheet material preferably having some rigidity and cut to a configuration corresponding to the recess II in the die plate Ill. The ,pattern l2 dimensi-onalb'is .slightlysmaller than the recess H and is intended to "be received therein so as to leave a narrow marginal space along all edges, for reasons as will presently'bemade known.

'In carrying out my invention, a blank i3 is "first 'cut from "fabric material to conform generallyltothe desired configuration, and recess I I,

but'has'integra'l marginal extensions Mto prov'idean oversizedmember; The blank i3 is then c'e'ss' H are-substantially of uniform width. The

pattern l-2 isthen superimposed over thefabric- "blank 13' and pressed intothe recess ,ll. As a result the marginal extensions of the blank #3 are-'caused'to turn upwardly substantially at -rightangles'to'theplane of the'body of the blank,

as illustrated in Fig. 3. Thereafter, heat and pressure such as ordinarily secured by human force exerted on an ordinary flat-iron are applied to cause the marginal edges M of the blank l3 to fold inwardly and to lie fiat against the pattern l2, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The depth of the recess ll preferably should be equivalent to the thickness of the pattern 12 plus two thicknesses of the fabric blank 13, such that when the marginal extensions (4 are folded over they will lie substantially in the same plane as the top surface of the die plate In and will permit a flat-iron l6 readily to pass thereover. After the marginal extensions 14 are pressed into position, as shown in Fig. 4, the pattern I2 is removed and the formed applique is then in condition for attachment to a surface, which attachment may be effected by stitching the applique along a marginal line l5, as shown in Fig. 1.

It will be apparent that in some cases it may be desirable to add body or rigidity to the finished blank of the material to be applied, placing the said blank over a die recessed to conform to a applique. In that event, the pattern l2 may be formed from buckram or crinoline and retained in the folded marginal edges l 4 when theappliqu is stitched to a surface.

.I have found that when the pattern isformed from buckram the results are particularly satisfactory, since it appears that thefabrics ofthe applique blanks tend to adhere to a greater degree to the surface of the buckram than to patterns made from materialslhaving'smootl surfaces'. Additionally, folded-under marginaledges of the appliqus tend better to retain their position for the final stitching operation when moisture or steam is used concurrently with the application of heat and pressure, in the pressing operation-above described, and also when the same pressing operation is repeated ;on the applique after the pattern has been'rem-oved therefrom.

It will be seen from the' fcregoing that I have provided a method of preparing appliqus for ,at-

:g'inal'edges of the said blank extending over the edges of said recess,cutting aformfrom sheet material to ,a, configuration.corresponding .to that,

of saidrecess but being relatively smaller dimensionally so as to be received said recess, placirig said form over said blank, and urging said form and said blank into said. recess so as to cause the marginal edges of said blank tobe turned upwardly out of the plane thereof, applyingheat and pressure .to the upwardly turned, marginal edges to causethe same to be folded inwardly,

and removing the said applique from said die.

2. The method of preparing theedges of an applique for attachment to a surface comprising cutting a blank of thematerial to be applied, placing the said blank over a die recessedlto conform to a desired configuration, with the marginal edges of the said blank extendinglover the edges of said ,recess, cutting a form from sheet-material to a ,rconfiguration corresponding to that .of said recess jbutbeing relatively smaller dimensionally so as to be received in .said recess, placing said form 1 desired configuration, with the marginal edges of the said blank extending over the edges of said recess, cutting a form from sheet material to a configuration corresponding to that of said recess "but being relatively smaller dimensionally so as to be received in said recess, placing said form over said blank and urging said form and said blank into said recess so as to cause the marginal edges of said blank to be turned upwardly out of the plane thereof, applying heat and pressure to the upwardly turned marginal edges to cause the same to be folded inwardly, removing said appliqu from said die and stitching said applique to said surface.

'4. Thernethod of forming and attaching an applique to a surface which comprises cutting a blank of the material to be applied, placing the said blank over a die recessed to conform to a desired configuration, with the marginal edges of the said blank extending over the edges of said recess, cutting a form from sheet material to a configuration corresponding to that of said 5 recess but being relatively smaller dimensionally .so as to be received in said recess, placing said form over said blank and urging said form and said blank into said recess so as to cause the marginal edges of said blank to be turned upwardly out of the plane thereof, applying heat and pressure to the upwardly turned marginal edges to cause the same tobe folded inwardly,

removing said form from said formed applique,

and stitching said applique to said surface. 7

5. The method of preparing edges of an appliqu for attachment to a surface comprising cutting a blank of the material to the applied, placing the saidblank over a die having a recess conforming to a desired configuration with the marginal edges of said blank extending over the edges of said recess, placing a form conforming in configuration to said recess over said blank and pressing said form and said blank into said recess so as to cause the marginal edges of said blank to be turned upwardly out of the plane thereof, thereafter applying heat and pressure to said marginal edges to cause the same to be folded inwardly.

MAURICE A. FRIEDLEN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS the Number Name Date 684,237 Heerwagen Oct. 8, 1901 1,561,229 l-Iaon Nov. 10, 19 5 

